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ARE YOU THE PASTOR OF A LAODICEAN CHURCH

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Laodicean church

To the Laodicean church…

“ And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;  I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” Revelation 3:14-22 .

When it comes to the interpretation of the book of Revelation, there’s no shortage of interpretations or opinions. The most prevalent view is that the first four chapters are symbolic of seven stages of church history. There are others who see chapter four as a type of the rapture of the church. John is supposed to be a type of the church. His rapture is preceded by the Laodicean church age, which many believe we are in today.

[pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]There’s no shortage of views of the church.[/pullquote]

Also, there’s no shortage of views of the church. Many believe the church is general, universal and consisting of all truly saved individuals from the beginning of the church until the rapture. Others hold to a partial rapture, which means, only those who are living for Christ and looking for Him, will be raptured. Then, there are some who reject the concept of a universal church and teach that the only valid church on earth is a local Baptist Church whose lineage, like an unbroken chain, extends back to John the Baptist. They believe all the saved will be raptured, but not all will be in the “bride,” which, they say, consist of members of a select group of Baptist Churches.

For those who believe the only scriptural church is a visible local Baptist Church, and believe the teaching that there are seven periods of church history, we ask, which church age are we in? Also, if this is a Laodicean church age, and if the only church is a visible Baptist Church, would that be your church? If yours is a Laodicean church, you may be in trouble. “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.”

Just for the record. I believe all saved people are members of the body of Christ. I do not accept that the body of Christ is the subject of any part of the book of Revelation, nor that the church is the “Bride of Christ.” However, I was graduated from a Baptist College, I pastored three Baptist Churches. One I started with “0” people and pastored it for 40 years. By God’s grace we saw people make professions of faith every Sunday. Many of these are serving God in full-time ministry. Oh, I was also saved and baptized in a Baptist Church. Has the chain been broken from John till then? Beats me.

 

PERPETUITY AND HARLOT CHURCHES #2

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(Perpetuity and Harlot Churches #1)

Can anyone seriously prove perpetuity?

broken chain

 

By Ken Blue

I have found that church history books are not reliable. It depends on who writes them. Then, there are little red books with charts and graphs, but how do we know these charts are accurate? Does it require faith in man’s theological bias? None is completely objective. If you can’t validate your baptism back to the beginning, with assurance that the chain has never been broken, how are others to know? Doesn’t it require a little Bible knowledge, a lot of history, and even more faith? I am confident if you can know, so can we.

Power intoxicates men. Catholic baptism, according to them, puts you in the church that started with Peter. Seventh Day Advantest baptism puts you in the church Jesus started. Apostolic Church Of God, baptism in the name of “Jesus only,” puts you in the church Jesus started. Charismatic baptism in the Spirit, gives you the Spirit.  And, some Baptist churches believe, if you don’t have their local church baptism, you are not in Jesus’s church or the bride. So, you see, it’s all about power. “If you don’t have ours, you don’t have it, and you are not in…” I think those who take that position are “power mongers.”

The argument is simple; first, you must have a proper candidate who is saved. Right! Secondly, you must have a proper mode, baptism by immersion. Right! Thirdly, you must have the proper church, one with perpetuity back to John the Baptist. Wrong! Fourthly, there must be proper authority to baptize. Wrong! It’s all about control and authority. Like Peter, their baptism is the KEY to the true church, and the bride. If you don’t have their approval, you’re OUT! I say  NUTS to their church bigotry and the arrogance about the administrator!

[pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]NUTS to their church bigotry and the arrogance about the administrator![/pullquote]

I have a list of different Baptist groups, found just in North America. I have no doubt that each one can “prove” they are the correct church with valid perpetuity.

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Alliance of Baptists-American Baptist Association-American Baptist Churches – Association of Reformed Baptist Churches of America-Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists- Baptist Bible Fellowship International-Baptist General Conference-Baptist Missionary Association of America-Central Baptist Association-Christian Unity Baptist Association-Conservative Baptist Association of America-Continental Baptist Churches-Cooperative Baptist Fellowship-Enterprise Association of Regular Baptists-Evangelical Free Baptist Church-Free Will Baptist-Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship-Fundamental Baptist Fellowship Association-Fundamental Baptist Fellowship of America-General Association of Baptists-General Association of General Baptists-General Association of Regular Baptist Churches-General Conference of the Evangelical Baptist Church, Inc.-General Six-Principle Baptists-Independent Baptist Church of America-Independent Baptist Fellowship International-Independent Baptist Fellowship of North America-Institutional Missionary Baptist Conference of America-Interstate & Foreign Landmark Missionary Baptist Association-Landmark Baptists-Liberty Baptist Fellowship-Macedonia Baptist World Missions-Mainstream Baptist Network National Association of Free Will Baptists-National Baptist Convention of America, Inc.-National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.-National Baptist Evangelical Life and Soul Saving Assembly of the U.S.A.-National Missionary Baptist Convention of America-National Primitive Baptist Convention of the U.S.A.-North American Baptist Conference-Old Regular Baptist-Indian Bottom Association of Old Regular Baptists-Old Time Missionary Baptist-Original Free Will Baptist Convention-Primitive Baptists-Progressive National Baptist Convention-Reformed Baptist-Regular Baptist-Roger Williams Fellowship-Separate Baptist-Separate Baptists in Christ-Seventh Day Baptist General Conference-Southern Baptist Convention-Southwide Baptist Fellowship-Sovereign Grace Baptists-Two-Seed-in-the-Spirit Predestinarian Baptists-United American Free Will Baptist Church-United American Free Will Baptist Conference-United Baptists-Unregistered Baptist Fellowship-World Baptist Fellowship-Worldwide Baptist New Testament Missions. Are you serious? You know you have perpetuity, and these don’t. It looks like the Corinthian Church to me.

WHAT IS THE GLORIOUS CHURCH? #2

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Glorious church(In our last blog, we were discussing what the glorious church is not. We continue, and  then will state what is.)

The glorious church does not mix the Kingdom of Heaven gospel with the gospel of grace preached by Paul.

The glorious church is not one that claims it practices Matthew 28:19, 20. All the commissions, including Acts 1:8, are Jewish, and consist of the Kingdom of Heaven ministry. No church today is, or can obey those commissions. That is easy to prove. No church preaches or practices “all things” Jesus taught His disciples.

The glorious church is not one that Jesus built while on earth. That church ceased to exist once Israel was set aside. A new apostle was chosen. A new gospel was revealed. A new mystery was made known. A new set of church epistles were given to Paul, and all this was done, not by Jesus on earth, but as the Lord from heaven. The glorious church is not one that fails to follow the teachings of Christ through Paul.

The glorious church can never be one that can’t rightly divide the Word of God. “ Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15.

WHAT IT IS THE GLORIOUS CHURCH?

Since the phrase, “a glorious church,” is found in the context of the mystery, we must be true to the text.

The first thing we notice is that the Lord wants the church to be morally pure, and that comes through the proper application of the Word. Just as a bride is to be pure on her wedding day, the Lord wants His church to be morally clean. The goal is for it to be holy and without blemish. The text is taken from the practical section of Ephesians. Doctrine, does not insure purity of life. There must be correct doctrine, and then correct application. Just as a man is to leave father and mother, and love his wife as his own body, so Christ loves the church, and gave Himself for it.

“This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” Ephesians 5:28-32. It was not a mystery that a man and his wife were one body. The mystery was that the church would be one body composed of Jew and Gentile. The church is said to be “bone of his bone, and flesh of His flesh.”  This mystery was unknown from before the foundation of the world, and was unknown until revealed to and through Paul. Most Christians do not understand the literalness of this truth.

There are those who teach that the glorious Church are Baptist churches who follow Baptist polity and doctrine. Anyone can set polity, and doctrines for his own church domination, and then search for a text to prop it up. This is what most dominations do.

One writer cites John 17:4, “I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.” John 17:4, to mean that Jesus finished the work of building the Baptist Church. This a liberty that not even Joseph Smith would take with the text. The Glorious Church is not a denomination, nor does it exist today. If it does, no one know its name.

In conclusion, the church of which Paul speaks did not start or exist in the four gospels or early Acts. The church of which he speaks was a mystery until revealed from heaven to Paul.

The church in the O. T. and the gospels was the Kingdom of Heaven church, and has no part in the existing church. It is the church that will be completed in the Millennial Kingdom, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

The problem is, the brethren cannot rightly divide the Kingdom of Heaven from the Kingdom of God. They can’t discern the difference between the gospel Jesus and His disciples, and the gospel preached by Paul. They don’t know what John’s baptism signified, (I’ve yet to receive an answer to that question.)  and how it differed from Paul’s baptism. They cannot separate the Kingdom gospels from the church epistles, or the Jewish epistles. Neither can they prove from history an unbroken chain of church purity from its beginning until now.

The church will indeed be a glorious church at the glorious appearing of Jesus, for those who have been saved by the glorious gospel. He will change our vile bodies like unto His glorious body. That well be a glorious day when the glorious church gets to glory!  THAT IS WHEN IT WILL BE A GLORIOUS CHURCH!

Sad to say, from the practical aspect, the church is anything but glorious. Most of the brethren place the church today as the Laodicean church. The first half of Ephesians is doctrinal, and explains our glorified position in Him. The second half of the book, admonishes us to live a practical life that brings glory to Him. Only at the rapture, will the church truly be A GLORIOUS CHURCH!

WHAT IS THE GLORIOUS CHURCH? #1

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By Ken Blue

The question is not, which church is the glorious church, but rather, what constitutes a glorious church. What makes the church glorious? Of course, the answer is in the word usage, and the context itself. We will discuss that later.

The first thing to establish is what the text is not teaching. It is not suggesting that a glorious church is a religious denomination that adheres to a set of theological tenets. That is obvious from the text.

The glorious church in the Bible is not built on tradition, or religious history. Reading church history books is like reading books on science from Darwin to the present. Each writes forms his conclusions from his own prospective.

The glorious church is not one that fits a set of doctrinal statements. Right here is where the problem starts. It is a slippery sloop, and I am not sure those who assume their church is that glorious church understand what they are doing.

One may conclude that he knows the starting point of the church. Then he will search from Genesis to Revelation for passages he assumes that address the church. These will be inserted into his theology. Note, theology is created by men. Therefore, it is the hunt and search method that is used to prop up doctrines, they assume, makes a church glorious .

The glorious church is not one who practices replacement theology. Simply stated, replacement theology take passages from the Bible that are for Israel, and applies them to the church. This is done when one believes that the body of Christ, the church, is found in the four gospels, Matthew through John. Therefore, the parables are taken from Israel, and are ascribed to the church. That is replacement theology.

The church that is glorious does not mix the Kingdom of Heaven gospel with the gospel of grace preached by Paul.

(Continued)

THE DRIFTING CHURCH

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Drifting church

By Ken Blue

If a church is drifting, one of two causes exists: The church has no charted destination, or the captain is asleep at the wheel.

The church that is adrift, with no clear destination, is at the mercy of the current. Its only objective is to get through another Sunday. Next Sunday will be another day, and we will deal with it as we did today.

This is the status of many churches. Their only goal is have church Sunday and observe another phenomena. The bulletin is printed because churches are expected to have them. The songs are selected with no relevance to the pastor’s message, and the sermon is preached with no intended purpose or expected results. Everything rises and ebbs with the tide. This is the church without clear objectives or destination and is adrift.

Some churches have a purpose statement, somewhere, but like a New Year’s resolution; they write it and forget it. It has no bearing on anything that actually happens. Statements are easy to write, but old habits are hard to break. Unless we plan everything according to a clear destination, we are simply drifting in circles.

Even with a clear destination, it is difficult to keep a church on course. Churches are like ships and airplanes. All are prone to drift. The only hope is to have a strong rudder and an alert captain at the wheel.

The question is, is your church adrift; if so, why? Is it because you don’t have a clear vision of what you are trying to do, how to do it, and where you want to go? Or, is it because your church activities have nothing to do with the purpose statement you have misplaced? Only you can stop the drifting.